How Fab.com Just Stupidly Blew a Sale

PETER SHANKMAN

POSTED ON January 18th, 2013

51 COMMENTS

Was on Facebook today, saw an ad from Fab.com, and immediately felt the need to make an impulse buy.

I saw this:

For me? Total no-brainer. I love t-shirts, I love funny little things, so I clicked on the ad. Went over to Fab.com, figured I’d buy that T-Rex shirt. It amused me.

I get there, the site loads, and there’s the T-Rex shirt, ready to buy.

Except I couldn’t buy it, because a pop-up appeared, asking me to either create an account, log-in, or connect with Facebook. BEFORE I EVEN BOUGHT ANYTHING.

There was no way to close it. There was no way to get around it. I clicked on the shirt and nothing happened, because I hadn’t logged in to fab.com yet, or created an account, or connected with Facebook.

Why would a company possibly do that? Can you imagine my walking into your store to buy something, but before I go in, I have to give you my name, address, and phone number before you’ll even let me in the store?

Companies: Take a lesson from this – DON’T MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS TO BUY THAN IT ALREADY IS. Make it EASIER! They don’t want to create an account? Don’t make them. That’s what the guest feature is for. Force me to do something I don’t want to do? No sale.

Can you imagine how horrible that would have looked on a mobile device? Come on, Fab.com, why would you stack the odds of a purchase against yourself? That’s not helpful to anyone.

Lesson learned, I hope. Lose the required login, Fab, and perhaps I’ll come back. In the meantime, do any other companies sell that T-REX shirt? I still totally want one.

http://www.facebook.com/macsamurai Laurie A. Duncan

The T-rex shirt is from Etsy :) http://www.etsy.com/listing/10.....dinosaur-t
http://casiestewart.com casiestewart

I would have bought one too!
Claire Celsi

Totally agree. What’s worse is that a lot of companies post ads with a specific item that captures your attention, and when you click on it, not only does it not take you to that item, but one of those annoying screens you mentioned pops up. Bad, bad user experience.
http://www.facebook.com/meghan.attreed Meghan Attreed

Couldn’t agree more Peter – I’ve complained about that with Fab to so many people. Lucky for you, it looks like Buy.com sells the shirt – http://www.buy.com/prod/ask-me.....90972.html
http://twitter.com/SusanLaMotte Susan LaMotte

Great point Peter. Losing sales because you want data isn’t worth it. Revenue is still king.

Oh, and you can buy the shirt here:

http://www.crazydogtshirts.com.....shirt.html
http://about.me/nan Nan Palmero

Bummer. You can buy it on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/About-T-.....B009C0I092
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=903990701 Rae Gross

Couldn’t agree with you more! Super annoying… On the plus side, you can order it here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/10.....dinosaur-t
http://twitter.com/dancemusicguy Ares (Mark Mutti)

Ugh, I hate when sites do this! I use Google Chrome’s Element Inspector to quickly hide this junk so I can read the article I clicked over to, etc. :/ It’s a bad practice to force these dialogues, but these sites are so hungry to mine data, market to people, sell that data and whatever else it is they do with it.
Diane

Frustrating! I can’t imagine how many people have done the exact same thing… lots of lost sales right there!
Kalen

I just went on that same site, same experience. I signed up and I get near-daily emails that I am going to unsubscribe from.. I like the site but DAMN
Laura allahverdi

The reason they do that is because sites like that are membership sites and bill per month. They are not about one sale, but memberships.
Ben

It actually used to be kind of worse. A friend would send me a link to a particular item and I couldn’t even view it without logging in. Now you can at least click a link and see the item.
Rave

Fab is a membership site so that you have access to all of their great sales. Yes, they will send you emails all the time, unless you unsubscribe. However, they have an awesome page where you can choose to get whichever emails you would like (they tell you exactly what types of items will be in each one on that page). It works the same as One Kings Lane, The Clymb and many many other membership sites that give great deals on items. Their customer service is awesome and I am always finding great new unique items there. I would highly recommend them and did not have a problem signing up with Fab.
http://twitter.com/SaraBAllen Sara Beth Allen

Here’s where I disagree – When you click the connect to Facebook button – you get an instantaneous account. You don’t have to remember a username or password the next time you want to shop there. If you make a website now without these kinds of social
logins you lose people. It seems kind of silly that you couldn’t click the ONE button. Also, you have connect with buttons on your blog!
shankman

Then their mistake was advertising a one-off sale on Facebook.
Amy

I really despise every comment, purchase, interest, et al having to be associated with Facebook, can I not have everything connected to a site that already knows too much about me?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503189117 Anne Shelander Easterling

That’s where they make the mistake — posting ads that look like one-off sales. I’ve hidden Fab ads on my FB pages because I got tired of being hoodwinked.
http://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/ Liz Karschner

I so get your point!!! I ran over to Fab.com and I have to say, you struck a cord cause now it is a dialog drop down that you can X out of that doesn’t cover the screen anymore. At least there is someone there listening…
Samantha

http://www.zulily.com behaves the SAME way. I would have bought a cute dress, but no thank you.
http://iangordon.me Ian Gordon

Spot on here. When it comes time to make a purchase, make it easy! That’s where the Facebook login rocks. Pair it with Paypal, and you really have something. One, two clicks, Done. Think amazon, right? But as an opening pitch? Crazy. Marketers need to remove as much friction from the call to action as possible, but you need to pay attention to what part of the funnel your prospect is in.
http://www.facebook.com/patricklcoleman Patrick L. Coleman

Who do they think they are, Radio Shack?
http://www.facebook.com/chiphanna Chip Hanna

Fab.com A/B and multi-variate tests EVERYTHING, to see what’s working and what’s not. They assigned a lifetime value to each person who signs up and realized that’s more valuable than the person looking to make a one time purchase. Frustrating? Sometimes. All about the business? Of course.
http://pberg.com Peter B.

False. Fab doesn’t bill per month. They bill per purchase.
Melissa

Around Christmas I tried logging on through Facebook and even creating an account and they told me I couldn’t!
pixeljuggernaut

http://www.amazon.com/About-T-.....t+my+T-Rex
http://twitter.com/jacobsloan Jacob Sloan

That’s too bad. Even if they’re playing the long game in building membership, they’d probably see better conversion via their sponsored stories ads if they prompted you to create an account as part of the buying process (or at the end of the process) rather than hit you with it right away. Once you’re attached to the product in your cart, you’d be more willing to check a box and create a membership. Isn’t the general rule to reduce friction between your user and a sale?
http://twitter.com/josh_west Josh

It’s like walking into a Verizon brick and mortar.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-Goldberg/514628222 Jason Goldberg

Hi. Fab does not require login just go to http://fab.com and browse. Same on mobile app.

You just ran into one of our a tests.
http://twitter.com/cynthiarobb Cynthia Robb

I totally agree Peter. I don’t appreciate a site forcing me to become a member. If it takes more than a couple of clicks to make a purchase or complete whatever I’m doing on that site, I move on. Not worth the frustration.
Sal Farr

It’s not stupid at all Mr. Shankman. Sara’s comment below is a case in point. What Fab.com really wants is to know everything about you as soon as you show-up at their door step (website). [so they can serve you (up-sell you) better]. Soon it’s gonna be Walmart, Target or Bestbuy… Your smart phone will give up your profile as you walk-in or walk-by…
My dog has an implantable RFID that my Vet scans as soon as the mutt shows-up at the clinic… Within seconds everything -I mean everything- about me, my dog and probably family, is shown on the screen at the receptionist’s desk.
But in cyberspace; your facebook profile is just as good, if not better than an RFID. …AND as Sara said; it’s ONLY ONE button to press!!! …BINGO! They now own you. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg ain’t stupid…
Peter Cain

haha and not sure if people here realised, Jason (founder and CEO of fab.com) had responded there! I’ve followed fab for quite a while now through his blog at betashop.com and am consistently blown away by what they have achieved in such a short time. They must be doing something right, and I have no doubt he will haven taken your feedback onboard and use it to keep pushing fab’s growth to the limits!
shankman

Jason: Love that you responded. Thanks for this. I’ll give you guys another shot. :)
shankman

Sara: Point missed entirely. What if I simply don’t want to give them all the information they ask for? Why should I have to?
http://www.facebook.com/andrea.mottdennis Andrea Mott Dennis

No kidding! And actually I haven’t even had luck sending a link to someone…if they’re not a member, they seemingly can’t see anything!! Really frustrating…
http://www.twitter.com/tressalynne tressalynne

I’ve found the same thing, and as Jason says, if you key in the main URL (vs. the one in the FB ad) you can get around it. Other sites with FB ads have also done this. It does make one wonder how many don’t figure this out and how many sales are lost in the process!
http://www.twitter.com/tressalynne tressalynne

That was actually for Peter, and I have no idea why it posted me as “Guest” – sorry!
Catherine

I mentioned this in a Facebook post last year when I tried to buy something also. For some reason, bad marketers think that you should give up all your information just to peruse their online catalog, before you even choose to purchase. Whatever the workarounds, it’s an extra click, and buying should be make easy! (“Enormous FAIL!”)
http://twitter.com/SaraBAllen Sara Beth Allen

Because when you are finally ready to pay you are all ready to go. You can have your credit card saved in there. Design without social connect is considered a flop. Doesn’t the FB button make it easier? YES.
http://www.facebook.com/jeanniewainwright Jeannie Wainwright

This is something that has taken over, and then you are bombarded with emails notifying you when new sales occur. Like you, I pass. There’s plenty of shopping out there that doesn’t have a gatekeeper.
http://www.facebook.com/sarah.mastrario.cook Sarah Mastrario Cook

I’ve been checking out your awesome stuff and I generally agree with what you say most of the time. However, on your investments page, you have info for SnapGoods and they do the exact same thing. I clicked through to check it out and it was the exact same scenario. :(
shankman

That’s because they use your network to get you what you’re looking for. Without your network, snapgoods doesn’t work. Nor the same with fab.com.
aminator

You should, they have totally cool stuff. I’ve dropped a lot of cash there lately. And their customer service is excellent, too.
Bea

A month later and this is still happening. I read about fab on a food blog I read, clicked over and got the pop up. I’m not going to try to key in other URLs to see if it works, i just left.
http://www.facebook.com/vendorcloud Charles Martin

Jason Goldberg you’ve got work to do to keep this buyer interested. I unsubscribed after a year because A) your shipping times are awful (the impulse dies a slow death and then I’m mad when Fab purch arrives 2 weeks later because I shouldn’t have made the purchase anyway) and B) your run on cool furniture and mid-century stuff is rigged. You obviously send these emails to dealers and such you know will buy BEFORE I get it. I immediately clicked on numerous days and weeks of that sale and the good stuff is always sold out. I emailed you about it but you didn’t answer. #FAIL
Jason Harris

“Design without social connect is considered a flop”

……considered by whom, exactly?

Facebook fans abandonig in droves (Pew research poll):
http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2521545

Facebook loosing teens:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3.....sing-teens
Brian

Two months later, and it is still has no ‘No thanks’ or ‘X’ on it. Had I not been very interested in the background of the company, I would not have found this page and the answer. It is engendering bad will and souring the user experience Jason. You are the man, get someone to fix it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=669490959 Greg Bulmash

But until you DECIDE to buy, you should not be required to identify yourself or give them any identifying information. There should be no login required to browse. Allowing you the option of signing in with Facebook (or another 3rd party authentication provider like Google, Twitter, or even Github) is great and getting easier by the week to implement in sites that require a sign-in. Requiring you to sign in just to browse the store is not.

BTW, I complained to Fab about this many many moons ago. They’ve been doing it for a long time, and they’re doing well, so I’m assuming they tested the crap out of it and found that there was a benefit to it. I don’t like it, but for 95% of the stuff they sell, I’m not their target customer.
Bob Bodack

Yup, same situation….same outcome….It’s what is called a “Barrier to Entry”…a turnoff, a negative. They forgot the most basic rule…..they are NOT in the Merchandise or Marketing Business….they are in the “Customer Service” business….I hope they figure it out!!!
http://www.facebook.com/gillian.casten Gillian Casten

Yes, it’s nice to enable users to create an account instantly through social, but you shouldn’t require them to make that account before they’re even at the checkout! Browsing should be free (including the cost of giving away your personal info).
skip

I am so SICK AND TIRED of seeing their stupid ads every time I open my page. Seriously if there was a way to PAY TO BLOCK IT, I would do it!
Alien

Sams does it

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